Danish actor Pilou Asbaek says he is grateful about playing an antagonist with a genuine cause in "Samaritan", fronted by Hollywood veteran Sylvester Stallone.
Danish actor Pilou Asbaek says he is grateful about playing an antagonist with a genuine cause in "Samaritan", fronted by Hollywood veteran Sylvester Stallone.
Danish actor Pilou Asbaek says he is grateful about playing an antagonist with a genuine cause in "Samaritan", fronted by Hollywood veteran Sylvester Stallone.
Asbaek, best known for playing the sinister Euron Greyjoy in hit HBO series "Game of Thrones", believes the antagonist needs to be good enough𓆉 to make the protagonist appear heroic.
"A good hero is only as goo🌊d as a good villain is. If the villain is stupid, idiotic and not very reflective, then the hero can't b🐽e it because it's too easy.
"I wish we could have don💯e a little bit more, but I'm happy and very satisfied with what we got and what we did. Some scenes got cut out, but I'm so thankful that you actually got him a little nuanced," Asbaek told PTI in an interview over Zoom.
"Samaritan" follows a young boy who comes to the realisation that his favourite superhero, Samaritan (Stallone) who was thought to have gone missing af𓃲ter an epic battle 25 years agoꦗ, may in fact still be around.
In the film, Asbaek plays Cyrus, the leader of a street gang, hell bent on wrecking carnage on the fictional Gran𝔍ite City.
The 40-year-old actor said he﷽ c💫hose to look at Cyrus from a different perspective as he found the character to be someone who fights for equal rights.
"You get a different perspective that ♋he's actually fighting for the poor. He's fighting for the people who don't have an🌄ything. He thinks the rich are the evil people and we should all be equal. And that's a beautiful thought," he added.
Hailing fr🦋om a socialist country like Denmark, Asbaek said he could relate to what his character was trying to achieve in the movie.
"I come from a socialist country, Denmark, where you pay a lot in tax and we're all like this. And you ꦅknow what? I love my country. We ha𒁏ve the best healthcare, free education, and free dental care. Everyone takes care of each other and it's kind of beautiful.
"But Cyrus, he wants to do it with violence and that doesn't work. 🅺You've got to do it with democracy and stuff like that," he pointed out.
The superhero movie will premiere ⛄on streaming service Pr♑ime Video on Friday.
One ♈good thing to have come out of the coronavirus pandemic, Asbaek said is that people have started watching diverse content.
"... You have the big-budget ༺films for cinema, but now I can watch them on Netflix or Amazon Prime. I can watch films that I would never ever be able to see, because I would nev꧟er go to the cinema and see these kinds of films.
"So yeah, in the middle of this pandemic that's been terrible for ﷽the majority of the world, so🅺mething good came out and it is that we started watching films online."
Streaming has put th✨e spotlight on different film industries from across the world, he said.
"Today, other countries also got a shot at it, like seeing a Bollywood film. I love that we are swapping culture more than we've ever done before," he added𝓀.
Asbaek, who visited India with playwright-wife Anna Bro a few years ago, said he hoꦯpes the audience her🌃e enjoys watching "Samaritan".
&qu๊ot;India is an incredible country. My wife has been there so many times. And I've visited her in Mumbai and we went to Goa, and a whole lot of places. It was amazing. It's a beautiful country... I hope India is going to watch 'Samaritan' when it is released," the actor said.
Directed by Julius Avery, "Samaritan" also stars Javon ‘Wanna’ Walton, Dascha Polanco and Moises Arias🌊.